Rachel Petty and A'Klay Kyaunghtee were nervous to meet each other. They wondered if they'd get along. They weren't sure if they could find common ground in their vastly different backgrounds. Kyaunghtee even wondered if Petty would be nice. Both the Greeley residents signed up to participate in the G2 Partners. The Global Refugee Center developed the pilot program to help refugees new to the community get plugged in.

Successful integration into another community largely depends on three main factors, said Erich Strehl, executive director of the Global Refugee Center, 917 10th Ave. Those include employment, language and culture acquisition and social bridging. That means finding a job, learning English and making community connections are all vital. All, in fact, are equally vital.

For a while now, the Global Refugee Center has helped refugees find jobs and learn English in a partnership with Right to Read. But it struggled with helping the refugees find a community and make connections. That's a struggle anyone faces when he or she moves to a new town.

The Global Refugee Center hopes G2 Partners can help.

“It’s meant for two people to come together on equal footing. We’re not trying to help the poor refugees who come here. We’re trying to learn from each other.

— Erich Strehl, executive director of the Global Refugee Center

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When Petty and Kyaunghtee finally got together, they clicked. They both went into it wanting to learn. They talked for hours. They became friends. They began to learn about each other's culture.

At a bonfire at Petty's house one night, she showed Kyaunghtee how to make s'mores. Kyaunghtee doesn't like chocolate, so she just tried the roasted marshmallow. Kyaunghtee told Petty that in Myanmar, people don't just sit around a fire and talk, let alone roast marshmallows.

In Myanmar, instead of marshmallows, she remembers throwing balls of rice into the fire. The flames cooked the rice. When she would take it out, the rice would be covered in soot and dirt, but no one cared. They ate it anyway.

Kyaunghtee told Petty about how people in Myanmar live in bamboo houses with leaves for roofs. She told her about what she remembered from the refugee camps, too.

Strehl said those are the kind of interactions that should define G2 Partners.

"It's meant for two people to come together on equal footing," Strehl said. "We're not trying to help the poor refugees who come here. We're trying to learn from each other." Kyaunghtee's older brother lives in Greeley too. He works at JBS.

He doesn't have a choice like she does, she said. He works really hard but doesn't know English.

She hopes she might be able to teach him someday, or that maybe he can take advantage of what the Global Refugee Center has to offer too. She's sad for him but thankful for her own opportunity. For now, she's studying human services at the University of Northern Colorado.

In November, the G2 Partners pilot put on a potluck. About 20 refugees and 80 Greeley residents came to the event. Strehl said he considers that a success. There's a lot of interest in the community, Strehl said, but it takes time to build trust among refugees. Some of the refugees were reluctant to go, but events like it create opportunities to meet more people and build relationships with folks they may never have met.

"I think people were afraid of going because they weren't sure if they'd be able to communicate," Petty said.

At this point, Kyaunghtee has good control of English. She came to the U.S. about eight years ago. She learned English in high school. She's confident enough to love speaking with others and practicing, but that's not the case for everyone.

When the program officially launches in January, Strehl said they might focus more on activities partners can do where talking isn't the sole focus.

Participants in G2 Partners have to commit for a trimester and agree to meet up twice a month, Strehl said. The Global Refugee Center suggests activities such as meeting for coffee, going to the Centennial Village Museum and going to events like the potluck.

Kyaunghtee planned on going to the potluck with Petty, but her friend went into labor.

"She asked me to take her to the hospital, but there was nobody with her," Kyaunghtee said.

Kyaunghtee stayed with her friend and helped translate. She stayed until the baby was born and she knew everything was OK.

For Kyaunghtee, G2 Partners is a way to learn about American culture and share her own. She wishes she had something like the Global Refugee Center when she first moved to the U.S., because when you're there, you're part of the family, she said.

"We don't go out and have fun in bars," Kyaunghtee said. "So, this is an opportunity to get to know people. If you don't know anyone in Greeley, you feel boring."

Even though the trimester-long test run is nearing its close, Petty and Kyaunghtee plan to keep hanging out. Petty, in fact, wants to go snowshoeing and to baseball games with Kyaunghtee.

— Kelly Ragan covers features and health for The Greeley Tribune. Have a tip? Call (970) 392-4424 or email kragan@greeleytribune.com.